Family
by The-Don-Corleone
Summary: Kurt's father is left hospitalized when his cancer is found later than usual. Kurt takes a moment to sing with his second family back in McKinley's Glee club for hopefully the last dedication song to his dad in the hospital. One-Shot. AU!Burt finds out about his cancer later than usual (But the whole Christmas thing still happens)


**When I heard this song play on my playlist (After watching the "Glee, Actually" episode), I immediately thought of Kurt and I've had this idea stuck in my head for a while. Some of the Glee kids are left out due to the fact that I have no idea where to put them. This AU, Burt is hospitalized as the doctors found out about his cancer a bit later than canon. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee and the song is Candour by Neck Deep (However the lyrics are changed slightly)**

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He pushed open McKinley High's double doors and kept his head down as he walked through the all too familiar and traumatizing hallways. His clothes were plain, sporting simple jeans and a button up, as his inner fashionista had disappeared due to the recent events, his skin was paler than usual, his hair undone and bed ridden, and bags weighed low under his tired eyes. Though the new kids in the school didn't know who he was, they knew better than to get in his way. He headed straight to the choir room, as the school day was soon to end and that was where all the Glee kids would be. As he turned the corner to the last hallway, he hit a wall consisting of protein and blonde. "My my, if it isn't my sweet Porcelain doll running back to this pathetic, disgusting excuse of a state from his failed attempts to get on Broadway and prance around as a greased up clown monkey who's voice sounds like the screeching of car tires." Car tires. God did that hit home… His mind fell blank as he thought of his father's auto shop and how he may never run it again. "Tell me Hummel, why are you back in McKinley's halls besides the fact that you miss your pathetic excuse of a Glee club and realized you have no talent to get to the run down, overrated Broadway stage." Hummel. That was his last name…and his father's last name. Memories were flashing back to the sign in sheet in the hospital. His mind came back to the present when Sue's _assistant_, Becky, snapped in front of his eyes, saying something along the lines of, "She asked you a question bee-atch." He looked up to his former coach's eyes and Sue realized how extremely exhausted he looked. Sue turned to Becky and said something, causing her to stalk off and undoubtedly tip over several xylophones on her way back to the office. "Take a break, kid. You're dad is going to be fine." How she knew, he had no idea, but he was grateful for her "support" and not bothering him any further about the issue.

He continued his journey to the choir room where already the whole club was settled in their seats, arguing over solos and genres of music. He looked at all the current and former members of Glee club through the door window before finally sighing and stepping in. The room fell silent as they looked over to the dead-but-walking boy that had entered the room. Mr. Schuester, being the teacher, ushered him into the front of the room when he overcame his surprise of his appearance. Mr. Schue leaned in before he took a seat and whispered, "Are you alright Kurt?" His mouth went dry and he nodded hesitantly. Kurt. The name was too familiar to his father's. Burt. His memories once again flashed to that of a hospital room and the steady beeping of the heart monitor.

Kurt looked up to the students, former and present, of Glee club and took a hard swallow before speaking for the first time that day. "As some of you may know…" His blue eyes glanced cautiously to Finn before he continued, "My father has recently been diagnosed with prostate cancer. The doctors…luckily…caught it in an early stage but he's being hospitalized for the moment." Visible shock and sadness spread across the members' faces and he continued, "The last time my father was in the hospital, he came out of a coma and I sang a song dedicated to him. This time…I'm not so sure that I'll be so lucky…" The room was quiet and mournful as he nodded towards the band members to start playing. Silent surprise overcame some of the members as they recognized the song, and they didn't expect him to sing such a…well…Masculine lead. Further shock settled in as they heard Kurt sing in a lower, raspier, and sadder tone than his normal Gaga songs.

"_Yesterday saw you missing…_

_Drawn to the light in the distance…_

_Holding his hand while he listened,_

_He told him how much he would miss him."_

Tears rimmed his eyes but he continued singing. The images of his father laying in the hospital bed…twice…His life on the line of a heart monitor, were speeding past his eyes.

"_Said his goodbyes to his children,_

_And let the weight fade away…"_

The mere idea of his father dying so soon caused tears to start dropping from his eyes. Blaine immediately stood to comfort him, but Mr. Schue put his hand on his shoulder and sadly shook his head, indicating how much Kurt needed to get it out of his system.

"_I have your hands,_

_But I have my m-mother's eyes."_

Bringing up his mother had pulled strings at Kurt's heart. He stumbled on the lyrics, almost choking the song, but recovered himself as he continued singing.

"_Your tact and poise,_

_And her sense of wrong and right._

_Heard you awake in the middle of the night,_

_Letting go of the things you keep inside."_

Hearing his father's sobs for months after his mother's funeral was heart breaking. He had stayed awake at night, unable to sleep due to nightmares, and merely listened to the sounds of his father destroying his life at the loss of his love.

To say that the former members of Glee club weren't surprised when they heard Kurt singing in a more masculine tone than usual was a lie, but hearing him shout and sing the next verse was both heart wrenching and shocking. Puck, seated in the middle row next to Quinn, thought immediately, _'If only he sang like this when we were in Glee club…We probably wouldn't have made so much fun of him for being girly.'_ He instantly felt guilty for all the times he had picked on Kurt.

"_Worked your fingers to the bone,_

_To be sent home with a cardboard box._

_Filled with everything you've known,_

_All things come to be loved and lost._

Tears freely and steadily fell down his face and unto the tile floors as more and more childhood memories ran through his mind. Finn and Blaine stood and carefully walked over to Kurt. Finn put his hand on his shoulder comfortingly and Blaine held Kurt's hand, reminding him that he was there for him. Kurt looked at them appreciatively before continuing.

"_I'll keep a moment sealed in time inside a picture frame._

_A small reminder of the days I thought would never change._

_They always say it's clear to me_

_How parts of you shine through in me."_

Kurt thought of the times he helped his father in his auto shop. Passing him the screwdriver or helping him tighten bolts were the small gestures Kurt did to show his thankfulness. Burt understood and thanked him for his help every time. He thought of the times that he snuck into his dad's room when he was out working late and wore his old football jersey and his old, worn auto shop cap. Burt found out when he found his son sleeping on the couch, grabbing tightly to the jersey he was wearing, with a football game playing on the TV screen.

"_I think you know, you won't be here forever_

_And you're counting down the days_

'_Til you can rest your tired eyes and let it slip away…"_

Kurt choked when singing the last line. Unable to finish the rest of the song, Kurt broke down into sobs, clutching Blaine's shirt as if his life depended on it, and the whole former Glee club, including Artie, Tina, and Sam, bolted to his side. They were his second family and they knew it. They knew that he relied on them whenever he couldn't have support at home. They knew that at this moment, the sobbing, hysterical boy that had one hand clung to his "boyfriend's" body and the other grabbing his hair as if trying to pull the memories out of his head, was broken, and that he had needed them more than ever.

The new members, though on their feet, stood to the side of the group. They didn't know Kurt like the others did, but they were here to support him through his tough times. The band members had stopped playing almost immediately after Kurt broke down, and stood silently watching the scene. Finn and Blaine comforted Kurt into calming down before he hyperventilated. Puck, Sam, and Artie had walked with him through the now empty halls of McKinley toward the bathroom. Quinn, Brittany, and Santana helped clean him up in the surprisingly clean, boy's bathroom. Tina, Mercedes, Rachel reassured him of his father's soon-to-be-well health as they escorted him back into the choir room. Mr. Schuester had made sure Kurt was well fit in to continue, and comforted him into watching the rest of the Glee club. Ryder, Marley, Jake, and Kitty all made sure he knew that they were there to support him, even if he didn't know them that well.

Glee club was where the black, white, mixed, straight, gay, religious, atheist, ill, healthy, and overall fucked over, had gathered. They were a family, and no family turned their back on their brother in need.


End file.
